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Code Number: 2C20.63
Demo Title: Magnus Effect - Weather Balloon Curve Ball
Condition: Good
Principle: Magnus Effect on a Baseball
Area of Study: Fluids, Chemistry and Physics of the Environment
Equipment:
Large Latex Weather Balloon (Edmund Scientific), Large Cloth Covered Balloon, Helium.
Procedure:
See also 2C20.63 in Chemistry and Physics of Everyday Experience.
Take the weather balloon and draw the stitches of a baseball on it. Fill the balloon with part air and part helium to the desired diameter, so that the balloon has neutral buoyancy. Tape the end of the balloon so that it is flat against the surface of the sphere. Throw the balloon into the classroom crowd with some spin and watch the balloon curve.
References:
- Rod Cross, "Visualizing Fluid Flow Around a Baseball Using Water Instead of Air", TPT, Vol. 59, #5, May 2021, p. 310.
- David Kagan and Alan M. Nathan, "Simplified Models for the Drag Coefficient of a Pitched Baseball", TPT, Vol. 52, #5, May 2014, p. 278.
- Yasuo Ogawara, "A Spherical Boomerang", TPT, Vol. 47, # 8, p. 555, Nov. 2009.
- Rod Cross, "Aerodynamics of a Party Balloon", TPT, Vol. 45, #6, Sept. 2007, p. 334.
- Rod Cross, "Aerodynamics in the Classroom and at the Ball Park", AJP, Vol. 80, #4, Apr. 2012, p. 289.